Yankees clinch AL wild card spot with win over Red Sox
NEW YORK — It was impossible to say where the rain ended and the champagne began. The Yankees were soaked from the downpour under which the game began and the bubbly bath under which it ended.
New York's final home game culminated in its first playoff appearance in three seasons — an veritable eternity in pinstripes — as the Bronx Bombers beat the Red Sox 4-1 on the backs of three home runs to clinch a wild card and move within one more victory of guaranteeing that next Tuesday's playoff opener is at Yankee Stadium.
"These guys, to me, did a lot on just heart and hard work," New York manager Joe Girardi said, adding, "There's so much happiness in there. They're jumping up and down like little kids. You want them to enjoy this. This is very difficult."
In the ninth inning, the smattering of fans who attended and endured the rain-drenched evening rose to their feet as New York reliever Dellin Betances struck out Boston's Josh Rutledge to end the game, clinch a playoff berth, complete the franchise's 10,000th victory and tie a big league record for bullpen strikeouts.
Despite the significance of that moment, catcher John Ryan Murphy ran to the mound and hesitated before attempting to chest bump Betances, which required a considerable leap from the 5'11" backstop to the 6'8" reliever.
"I had no idea what to do. I'm not even sure what happened, really," Murphy said with a smile in the booze-filled postgame clubhouse. "The height difference makes it a little awkward, but I think we did our best."
Murphy pledged to review video and improve his celebration for the next round of the playoffs, which could include more victories if the Yankees continue their formula from Thursday night — one that worked all season of bombs and the bullpen.
Right fielder Carlos Beltran smacked a two-run homer in the second inning, and rookie infielders Greg Bird and Rob Refsnyder added solo shots for insurance in the seventh and eighth. Starting pitcher CC Sabathia earned the victory with five innings of one-run ball, before giving way to Adam Warren who added three shutout innings of his own before Betances pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.
The game-ending strikeout was New York's 589th by a reliever, tying the major league single-season record set by a 2012 Rockies staff that threw 131 more innings because of its piggyback starter system.
"We were counting down there," Warren said. "We were thinking about it. It's a special group of guys, and I feel like the bullpen's carried the team with how great they've been."
Betances and closer Andrew Miller each have at least 100, making them the sixth teammates to reach triple figures.
The performance by Warren, who has shifted from the rotation (17 starts) to the bullpen (26 relief appearances) all season, that drew raves — Girardi likened him to swing man Ramiro Mendoza from the late 1990s clubs and Miller called him a postseason "difference maker" for his ability to cover multiple innings.
Warren laughed because he didn't know what his role would be until this afternoon.
"It's funny because, coming to the ballpark today, I didn't even think about pitching," Warren said, "then, all of a sudden, you're thrown into the fire."
The Yankees reached their 18th postseason in the last 21 years, during which time they've won five World Series. This will be their first appearance since each of the Core Four — Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera — retired.
The victory was doubly significant, as New York notched that milestone 10,000th win, becoming the first in the American League to reach that milestone. The Yankees' all-time winning percentage is .569 which, when translated into a single 162-game season, is equivalent to a 92-70 record — Every. Single. Year.
While baseball is experiencing an unprecedented youth movement, the Yankees' lineup has trended in the other direction. Its average age is 31 — the only big league club north of 30 — and 179 of New York's 212 home runs have been slugged by 30-somethings.
Their leading home run hitter with 33, Alex Rodriguez, recently turned 40 in his return to baseball this season following a yearlong suspension. Few were as jubilant in the clubhouse immediately after the game ended as he was. (Few were as stoic as starter Masahiro Tanaka, who took the first shower and was ambushed with beer and champagne by at least a dozen teammates as he returned to his locker, presumably precipitating an encore shower.)
Earlier on Thursday, Girardi had confessed some "frustration" but denied feeling anxious about not yet having clinched, noting rallies in two of the three games — afterward, he described that resilience as indicative of their play all season.
"They always kept fighting," said the manager who wears the uniform number of the championship they are chasing, No. 28. "They always seemed to bounce back."
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